warning

I was told to sit this one out—flack would be given, mud slung—and I agreed. But then I remembered I don’t always listen. Especially this time, when I desperately want to at least point and nod and mumble “yeah, what he said!”

For those who missed it, the owner of Bad Moon Books has spewed venomous, homophobic comments. Better people than me have eloquently recapped the situation and then spoken on it, so let’s make a little link smorgasbord, point and nod, and send you on a journey that will enlighten you, if not educate you…

Back in April, the owner of Bad Moon Books said some truly horrible things and Lee Thomas commented on it.

Several others have also joined in, including people that I call friends and/or look up to and pay attention to—and I echo their sentiments wholeheartedly. Closed minds, bigotry, and hate talk are unacceptable, and hurtful to more than just those they target. And not for nothing, but when the likes of HWSNBN sides with your radical thinking… maybe you need to re-evaluate your thinking.

Since I sold horror-web and started concentrating on writing, I’ve gone very quiet online. But I’m still there, in the wings, paying attention to what’s said and who’s doing what. If my lurking and listening garners nothing else, it often teaches me what not to do. I won’t self-publish crap, I won’t give my work away, I won’t declare myself the next big thing, and I won’t submit to or purchase from Bad Moon Books.

I know and adore several authors that are unfortunately in the BMB stable, and wish there were some way to protect them from the backlash that Roy’s comments and attitude are going to cause, and have already, but I can’t. I have no magic wand. And this [anger, opinions, backlash, etc.] isn’t about those authors or their decision to be there—many were there, or had signed contracts to appear there, before Roy’s misguided feelings were made public. Maybe, by posting these links and pointing to what others have said, I can help another newbie [seriously, who else is going to care what I say] be fully informed and save themself from the heartache of submitting without full disclosure. Because, after all, if you pay attention to whether or not the market you’re interested in submitting to is a pro market, publishes professional writers vs. hacks, etc., shouldn’t you also know whether or not the man behind the binding is a hate-filled imbecile?